Formed while the members were working in America, the initial impetus was to record an album of Irish rebel songs (released as "The Rising of the Moon") as one of the first releases in 1956 of new folk label, Tradition Records. Paddy Clancy's harmonica provided the only musical accompaniment for this debut album.
Little thought was given at that point to continuing as a singing group. The four were all were busy establishing careers (in the theatre) for themselves, in addition to their work at Tradition Records. With the album being a local success, requests were often demanded for the brothers and Makem to sing some of their songs at parties and informal pub settings. Slowly, the singing gigs began to outweigh the acting gigs and by 1959, serious thought was given to a new album. Liam had developed some guitar skills, Tommy's hand, which hasd been injured, had healed enough that he was again able to play tin whistle and Uilleann pipes, and the times spent singing together had improved their style. No longer were they the rough, mostly unaccompanied group of actors singing for an album to jump-start a record label; they were becoming a professional singing group.
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group. Most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy and Liam Clancy. Paddy, Tom, Bob, and Liam are best known for their work with Tommy Makem, recording dozens of albums together as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. They were a primary influence on a young Bob Dylan and on many other emerging artists.
The release of their second album, this one of Irish drinking songs called "Come Fill Your Glass with Us", solidified their new careers as singers. The album was a success, and they made many appearances on the pub circuit in New York, Chicago, and Boston. It was at their first official gig after "Come Fill Your Glass With Us" that the group finally found a name for themselves. The nightclub owner asked for a name to put on the marquee, but they had not decided on one yet. Unable to agree on a name (which included suggestions like "The Beggermen", "The Tinkers", and even "The Chieftains") the owner decided for them, simply billing them as "The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem". The name stuck. They decided to try singing full-time for six months. If their singing was successful, they would continue with it; if not, then they would return to acting. The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem proved successful as a singing group and in early 1961, they attracted the attention of scouts from The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Clancy Brothers' mother read news of the terrible ice and snow storms in New York City so she sent Aran sweaters for her sons and Tommy Makem to keep them warm. Paddy and Liam Clancy stated they wore the sweaters for the first time in the Blue Angel club. When Marty Erlichman, their manager, saw the sweaters, he was beside himself! "That's it!" he exclaimed. I've been looking for a special costume for the group. It was also the night that Barbra Streisand sang in the Blue Angel for the first time. The sweaters became the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's trademark. When back in their hometown, the band purchased their Aran jumpers from Babington, on the main street. Babington had a local woman by the name of Betty McGillivray nƩe Duggan knit the jumpers and supply the shop on regular occasions.
On 12 March 1961, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed for 16 minutes in front of a televised audience of 80 million people on The Ed Sullivan Show. As Pearl Bailey did not show that night, the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem were given her time. The televised performance instantly attracted the attention of John Hammond of Columbia Records. The group was offered a five-year contract with an advance of $100,000, a huge sum in 1961. For their first album with Columbia, they enlisted Pete Seeger as backup banjo player for the live album A Spontaneous Performance Recording It included songs that would soon become classics, such as "Brennan on the Moor," "Jug of Punch," "Reilly's Daughter," "Finnegan's Wake," "Haul Away Joe," "Roddy McCorley," "Portlairge" and "Moonshiner." The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961.
By the end of 1961, they had released two more albums, one final one with Tradition Records, and another with Columbia, Hearty and Hellish: A Live Nightclub Performance, and they were playing Carnegie Hall. Additionally, they were making appearances on major radio and television talk-shows in America.
1962 proved to be an even better year. CiarƔn MacMathuna, a popular radio personality in Ireland, was visiting America when he heard of the group. He collected the few albums they had out at the time, brought them back home to Ireland and played them on his radio show. The broadcasts skyrocketed the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem to fame in Ireland, where they were still unknown. In Ireland, songs like "Roddy McCorley," "Kevin Barry" and "Brennan on the Moor" were slow, depressing songs full of melancholy, but the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem had transformed those songs (the disgruntled purists in Ireland said "commercialized") and made them lively. For generations the songs had been a reminder of the troubles in Ireland and therefore they weren't anything anybody sang proudly. The Clancy Brothers changed all that, and the transformed songs reinvigorated Ireland's pride in her music. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were brought over for a sold-out tour of Ireland in late 1962. Popularity in England and other parts of Europe soon followed, as well as Australia and Canada. By 1963, appearing on major talk-shows in America, Canada, England, Australia and Ireland, as well as their own TV specials, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem were "the most famous four Irishmen in the world" as said by Ireland's Late Late Show host, Gay Byrne, in a retrospective interview in 1984. In 1964, one third of all the albums sold in Ireland were Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem records.
The 1960s continued to be a successful decade with the release of approximately two albums per year, all of which sold millions of copies. They continued to peak with television appearances in front of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Their popularity is the result of several factors. There was already an American folk revival beginning in the United States, and men such as Ewan MacColl popularizing old songs on the other side of the Atlantic. But it was the Clancys' boisterous performances that set them apart, taking placid classics and giving them a boost of energy and spirit (not that they took this approach with all their songs; they would still sing the true mournful ballads with due reverence).
But by the late 1960s, rock music had taken full swing, and the ballad and folk boom was waning. To keep the band at the top, Teo Macero began producing their records for Columbia. Macero introduced new instrumentation to their music, including Louis Killen coming in to play concertina on backup, particularly on their 1968 album of sea songs, Sing of the Sea. But their last three albums for Columbia Record in 1969 and 1970 are considered by many to be overproduced, with a multitude of string instruments and synthesizers added to the simpler traditional Clancy mix of guitar, banjo, tin whistle and harmonica.
In 1969, the group recorded a song for a two-minute-long TV ad for Gulf Oil: "Bringin' Home the Oil". They adapted a traditional Scottish tune they had recorded, "The Gallant Forty Twa," with new words about large-capacity supertankers. The song and commercial featured the then-largest supertanker in the world, the Universe Ireland, which operated with sister ships Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan and Universe Portugal, all mentioned in the song and which operated from the seaport at Bantry Bay.
1969 marked the amicable departure of Tommy Makem from the group. Giving them a year's notice, Makem left in April 1969 to pursue a solo career armed with such recent compositions as "Four Green Fields", debuted on 1968's Clancy Brothers album, Home Boys Home.
The "other brother", Bobby Clancy, filled Tommy Makem's vacancy and the band became The Clancy Brothers.
Reilly's Daughter
The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eating spuds and drinking porter
Suddenly a thought came into my mind
I'd like to marry old Reilly's daughter.
Giddy i-ae Giddy i-ae Giddy i-ae for the one-eyed Reilly
Giddy i-ae (bang bang bang) Play it on your old bass drum.
Reilly had a mind for murder and slaughter
Reilly had a bright red glittering eye
And he kept that eye on his lovely daughter.
Her hair was black and her eyes were blue
The colonel and the major and the captain sought her
The sergeant and the private and the drummer boy too
But they never had a chance with Reilly's daughter.
I got me a ring and a parson too
Got me a scratch in a married quarter
Settled me down to a peaceful life
Happy as a king with Reilly's daughter.
Suddenly a footstep on the stairs
Who should it be but Reilly out for slaughter
With two pistols in his hands
Looking for the man who had married his daughter.
I caught old Reilly by the hair
Rammed his head in a pail of water
Fired his pistols into the air
A damned sight quicker than I married his daughter.
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem's song Reilly's Daughter is a story about a man who falls in love with the daughter of a notorious and feared man named Reilly. The song begins with the man pondering while sitting by the fire, eating potatoes, and drinking beer. Suddenly, he realizes that he would like to marry Reilly's daughter, and this realization sets him on a tumultuous journey.
The man describes Reilly as a man who loves murder and slaughter, and also has a glaring red eye that is always on his daughter. Despite the many suitors who sought her, the man falls in love with her and gets a ring and a parson to marry them. However, trouble soon follows as Reilly finds out about the marriage, and comes to the man's quarters with pistols in hand, looking for revenge. The man, however, fights back and overpowers Reilly, settling into a peaceful life with his beloved Reilly's daughter.
The song is an interesting take on a love story with a twist of adventure and danger. It captures the essence of the Irish spirit with its portrayal of a fearless man who stands up to a powerful foe to marry the woman he loves. The chorus is catchy and makes the listener want to dance along. The lyrics are humorous and witty, with wordplay such as "Giddy i-ae" and "scratch in a married quarter."
Line by Line Meaning
As I was sitting by the fire
While I was relaxing by the fire
Eating spuds and drinking porter
Consuming potatoes and beer
Suddenly a thought came into my mind
An idea dawned on me
I'd like to marry old Reilly's daughter
I wanted to wed Reilly's daughter
Giddy i-ae Giddy i-ae Giddy i-ae for the one-eyed Reilly
Excitement for one-eyed Reilly
Giddy i-ae (bang bang bang) Play it on your old bass drum.
Accompany with percussion
Reilly played on the big bass drum
Reilly was a skilled drummer
Reilly had a mind for murder and slaughter
Reilly was inclined towards killing
Reilly had a bright red glittering eye
Reilly's one eye sparkled brightly
And he kept that eye on his lovely daughter
He carefully guarded his daughter
Her hair was black and her eyes were blue
The daughter had black hair and blue eyes
The colonel and the major and the captain sought her
Even high-ranking officers were after her
The sergeant and the private and the drummer boy too
Even lower-ranking soldiers were smitten with her
But they never had a chance with Reilly's daughter
Yet, Reilly's daughter remained unattainable for them all
I got me a ring and a parson too
I procured a ring and a preacher
Got me a scratch in a married quarter
Got married and settled in the barracks
Settled me down to a peaceful life
I found a calm and content life
Happy as a king with Reilly's daughter
My joy was complete with Reilly's daughter
Suddenly a footstep on the stairs
I heard someone coming up the stairs
Who should it be but Reilly out for slaughter
It was Reilly, looking for vengeance
With two pistols in his hands
He had two guns
Looking for the man who had married his daughter
He was after the one who wed his daughter
I caught old Reilly by the hair
I grabbed Reilly's hair
Rammed his head in a pail of water
Dunked his head in a bucket of water
Fired his pistols into the air
He shot his guns into the sky
A damned sight quicker than I married his daughter
It all happened much faster than me getting hitched to Reilly's daughter
Lyrics Ā© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LIAM CLANCY, PAT CLANCY, TOM CLANCY, TOMMY MAKEM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@olgierdvoneverec3554
Great performance but Uncle, Arthur, Karen and Susan are unbeaten :D
@MyIrules
It's a more personal singalong since you are one of them day in and day out. Most immersive game I've ever played.
@davidj.demarco2698
God Bless the Soul of Miss Dolores. O'Rierdan of The Cranberries. Loved both Dreams and Linger songs. God you folks have such a cool accent. Love to hear a whistle & siren "o.k. clancy take the boys and surround the house". Sgt. Patrick. O'Malley of County Wicklow. Love my hero actor Mr. Liam. Neeson. And don't forget Dewars white label and glenfiddich. God Bless Ireland and her seperate independent nation that she is. Never forget Mr. Bobby. Sands. I was only about ??? 13 years old. Love the Fiddle on the Irish Washer Woman.
Thanks from David Joseph DeMarco in Tucson Arizona USA.
@Kigsgrama
This was one of my favorite Clancy Bros & Tommy Makem's song when I was a little girl back in the early 60's - I still love it!!
@ShaunCollins-qj2sf
Cool š
@thedonbar8697
4 people will never have a chance with Reilly's daughter xD
@WidowsSon1981
TheDonBar looks like it's 5 now!
@foggydew3614
@Andrew Schutte mate they are 6 now the blind and deaf out there....
@jsbach347
7 lmao
@mtothebee
It's the same person coming back once a year :D